Thursday, 2 August 2012

Asian Pesto Stir Fry Pasta

So I'm sure everyone has had pesto pasta before, and I'm sure everyone has also had some sort of Asian stir fry. But have you ever combined the two??


Ingredients:
  • Whole wheat spaghetti
  • Pesto sauce (home made is better but I happened to have a jar in my pantry that I needed to use. I will post a home made recipe next time!)
  • Celery, mushrooms, carrots
  • Fried Tofu- This can be bought at most Asian markets either near the produce or tofu, and it resembles big blocks of the tofu often used in Thai restaurants. At the Asian market near me it costs $2.00 for 5 big blocks!
  • Boy Choy- aka Chinese cabbage-there are different types, I chose to use a smaller green one. Bok choy is great for stir fries because it is very low in calories, contains no fat, and is high in vitamins C,A and K!
  • Water, olive oil

  1. Bring a pot of water to boil (enough for 4 servings of spaghetti). While waiting on the water, cut the tofu into chunks, the carrot into thin slices, and chop the celery.
  2. Throw the tofu, carrots and celery into a pan with water, not oil. This way they can steam first and most of the cooking process will be done sans oil, which is healthier! Cook on medium heat.
  3. Add the whole wheat pasta to the boiling water.
  4. Slice the mushrooms and cut the bottoms off the bok choy and add to the vegetables. Also add the olive oil at this stage so the veggies don't go too limp. 
  5. The worst thing you can do to a stir fry, in my opinion, is overcook the vegetables. So once the mushrooms and bok choy is soft the other harder vegetables should be at the prime level of soft but still containing a crunch. The tofu's job is merely to soak up the flavours because it is already cooked.
  6. Drain the pasta and add to the vegetables, slowly adding the pesto sauce until everything is evenly coated. Serve with chop sticks and enjoy!





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